Minimalist footwear increases intrinsic foot muscle size and strength: a systematic review

Judit Figueira-Teuly, Jfigueira@uces.edu.ar, Carlos Jesús Canova-Barrios, Ccanova@uces.edu.ar, Marcelo Garrido, Vivian Boyardi, Aldo Oviedo and Paola Corvalán

SAP Podiatry, 2025

Abstract: Introduction: Intrinsic foot muscles stabilize the longitudinal arch, and their weakness is associated with foot pain, deformity and falls. Conventional footwear may reduce the mechanical demand placed on these muscles during daily activity. Methods: This PRISMA 2020 systematic review searched Scopus, PubMed, OpenAlex and Crossref for studies published between 2016 and 2025 that compared minimalist footwear or barefoot use with conventional footwear and measured intrinsic foot muscle size or strength. Risk of bias was appraised with RoB 2, ROBINS-I and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Results: From 281 records, 13 studies were included. Toe flexion strength increased by 57.4% (p

Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cwf:podart:pod2025166

DOI: 10.62486/pod2025166

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